Old Shemiran Road

'Old Shemiran Road' takes the reader to revolutionary Tehran as the Shah's reign gives way to tumultuous upheavals. While Iran's ruthless new leaders fortify their rule of terror, a beautiful Persian woman and a naïve Western man take a chance to resurrect their failed romance. More

Partly inspired by Ferdowsi's epic story of Bijan and Manijeh, 'Old Shemiran Road' takes the reader to revolutionary Tehran. When the final months of the Shah's reign give way to a period of tumultuous upheavals, Iran's ruthless new leaders move quickly to fortify the foundations for their rule of terror. As the world around them turns upside down, Manijeh, a beautiful Persian woman, and Ben, a naïve Western man, are drawn together by love and desire. But their romance is cut short when they are cruelly separated by family ties and cultural differences. Just when all seems lost, violent revolution and the political betrayals that followed it provide a chance for Ben and Manijeh to try again. David Morisset is the pen name of an Australian writer, who lived in Iran in the late 1970s, when he worked as a diplomat at the Australian Embassy in Tehran. He has published novels, short stories and poems, including 'Persian Princess', which was commended in the John Shaw Nielson Poetry Award (Fellowship of Australian Writers) in March 2010.

David Morisset is an Australian author who grew up in Riverstone, which was then a meatworks town in Sydney's semi-rural western districts. He moved to Canberra to study at the Australian National University and chose to roam the world, first as a diplomat and later as an economist. Over recent years he has published a novel about revolutionary Iran as well as collections of short stories and poems. He now lives and works by a quiet beach on the Central Coast of New South Wales.